DISSERTATION

A dissertation must be written under the direction or co-direction of an engineering faculty member and approved by a dissertation committee consisting of a minimum of five members, one of whom must be from outside the College of Engineering. For students with physics background the committee will be made up of at least six members, three cross-appointed Physics faculty members and three Engineering faculty members, with a chair from Physics and a co-chair from Engineering.

The dissertation adviser must be chosen by the end of the student's first academic year. The dissertation committee must be formed no later than immediately after successful completion of the candidacy examination. The members of this committee need not be the same as the members of the candidacy examination committee.

A dissertation research proposal must be approved by the dissertation committee. Candidates will be required to present an acceptable dissertation describing original research performed with minimal supervision. Dissertation approval is based on a successful oral defense of the dissertation research and approval of the dissertation. This requires approval of at least 80 percent of the dissertation committee.